Gem and Jo Paint It Pink

If you're a regular visitor here at Gem and Jo Take The World, then you're probably wondering, "hey what's up with all the pinkness all up in here" (or something along those lines). Well it's October and as some of you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! In honor of all the amazingly strong and courageous women who have battled this horrendous disease, we are painting our blog pink for the rest of the month! We are also asking that anyone who visits our blog, if you could please consider donating to your local Breast Cancer Researcher, they need your help to continue their  research and help every person affected by cancer.

In Ireland, over 2000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 660 will pass away every year. 1 in 10 women will get breast cancer at some stage in their lives. These rates are even higher in other parts of the world and the risk gets higher the older women get. Cancer research is so important, as currently it isn't known what causes breast cancer, but with more funding hopefully, this will be a thing of the past. Although rare, men can suffer from breast cancer too, 16 men were diagnosed with breast cancer last year in Ireland.

Research into cancer is important, but you can also help by regularly doing simple checks on yourself. Self checks mean that if you feel anything out of the ordinary, you can get to a doctor before other symptoms occur, meaning your survival rate is much higher. The sooner cancer is detected the easier it is to treat. Here in Ireland, 74% of women with breast cancer detected it themselves. Here's how you can self check:

1.  Check in the mirror. Take a look and see if there is any distortion of your breasts or any discoloration.
2. Raise your arms and look for the same things as in step 1.
3. Lying down, use the pads of your fingers and press into the breast tissue and move around in a circular motion, make sure to check all over using this technique.
4. After showering and before you dry off, use your whole hand to check your breasts for lumps or pain.

These steps are so easy and quick and doing them regularly could save your life. If you have noticed any change in your breasts please go and see your GP or doctor. It is so important that we make breast cancer as easy to treat as possible and that means early diagnosis.

We urge all you girls to stand up with us and make sure that every woman knows what to look for and where to go to get the help they may need.

So there you go! Throughout this month you'll be seeing our regular posts but some will have a bit of a pink twist. We hope you enjoy our pinkness this October and please donate if you can.

To donate €4 in the Republic of Ireland, text PINK to 50300.
To donate £5 in the UK, text PINK245 to 70070.
to donate $5 in the US, text HOPE to 20222.
To donate from other countires, please contact your local cancer charity online.

For  more information on cancer, check out the Irish Cancer Society's website Here.

Until next time,